Storm Rising
by Geo the Arch
Summary: Winter returns, and a miscalculation leads to a world of trouble for our friends in Burk.
1. Chapter 1

This is a new fiction area for me, and this is the first part of a story I have loosely plotted. Set some short while after events in the movie, things are returning to normal, and that includes the weather. I've done my best to make the speech resemble the movie. For now, enjoy this the first part of the story and let me know if you would be interested in more.

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><p><strong>Storm Rising<strong>

You may have heard of a place known as Burk, where it snows nine months out of the year, and hails the other three. Perchance you may have also heard of the strange happenings there of late, during the oddly nice weather they had recently. Nevertheless, nature has returned to its usual cycle, and with it, the village has slowly but surely adapted to their new lifestyle. My story starts thusly, on a cold winter's day, with a pair of friends sitting quietly on a cliff, watching the weak winter sun renew its battle against the building clouds in the distance.

Sighing, the young man shifted a bit, and leaned on his friend, his roving eyes taking in the sunrise. It had been a rough few weeks, making sure everyone got along. He'd felt the need to distance himself from the clutter for a few hours, and his friend had obliged. No words had been spoken, but then again, none were truly needed. Indeed, the dragon sitting next to him knew his mind nearly as well as he himself did. Even now this was proven true as Toothless peered at Hiccup and rumbled a soft question.

"Yeah, I'm ok bud. I just needed to clear my head for a while, get away from everybody." The dragon gave a nod of his head, and settled down, gazing out to the vast grey ocean. For a while there was silence but for the wind and the surf below. Then Hiccup felt the need to rearrange himself once more, and he uncrossed his legs stretching them out and letting them kick loosely against the cliff. One made little sound as his boot hit the rock, and the other made a distinctive metal clank that made him inadvertently wince and caused Toothless to shoot an anxious glance at his friend. Hiccup merely shook his head, and went back to gazing at the sea thinking. He'd had to replace the original leg that Gobber made for him twice now. The mostly wooden leg hadn't stood up to the stresses a pouncing Night Fury demanded of it, and as such, Hiccup had tinkered with the design extensively, and the current version was largely metal and had stood up to the stresses put on it so far. It was also the most comfortable design yet, with a bit of padding where it joined the rest of his leg.

That wasn't to say it never pained him though. He'd lost track of the times he'd slipped and had jammed the appendage into his flesh. There were also the matters of the night dreams that woke him up in a cold sweat, and his leg on fire, ever though it didn't exist anymore. Both of the matters were manageable though, mostly through the help of Toothless, who always seemed to be ready to lend him a support, or to be there with a friendly murmur and a warm embrace on those horrid nights.

Speaking of the dragon, Toothless was yawning widely, indicating all too well he had gotten his fill of the beautiful view and was ready to go elsewhere as soon as Hiccup was ready. Idly stroking his friend on the nose he murmured, "Just a few more minutes is all, and we'll get going for the day." One hand still on the Night Fury he gazed back out to the waves before the sound of wings caught his attention, and he looked up in time to see a very familiar Nadder land close by, and an even more familiar figure jump off it and walk towards him.

Struggling to his feet, Hiccup got his good leg up, placed his fake solidly, and promptly tripped when he turned around, falling dangerously close to the cliff edge. He was promptly dragged back from the edge by Toothless, who then placed himself between boy and vast open space. Blushing furiously, Hiccup again tried to find his feet, and got to his knees before looking up to find a hand in front of him which he accepted without a word before pulling himself up. Looking over her friend (who was perhaps more than just a friend, but they rarely spoke of that), Astrid's voice was slightly tinged with both humor and concern. "You're up early. Something bugging you?" Managing a grin, he shook his head. "Nah, just needed to get away from the village for a while. Needed to clear my head."

Glad to see a smile on her friends face, Astrid nodded. "Alright then. If that's the case, want to go flying with us? I think the weather's finally stopped cooperating, and we want to get one last good flight in before the snow starts." Suddenly excited Hiccup began to nod, and then stopped as a thought came to him.

"I'd love to, but I've just remembered that today the students in Dragon Training have finished their basic lessons with Gobber, and now it's my turn to teach them." He glanced up at the sky, hoping the blush had vanished from his face. "They'll probably be wondering where I am right now." Thinking, he shook his head. "Another day, I promise." He watched Astrid closely, feeling some invisible tension, as if he were letting her down.

She broke the tension after a few seconds, shrugging. Then, in a teasing tone and partly to cheer her friend up she added. "Alright. I bet you have more fun anyway, watching the new guys blunder around in the arena." She paused, feeling uncertain. "Maybe, later today when you're done and I'm back we can hang out? You know, just the two of us." The dragons rumbled together, from where they stood and Astrid rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright. The four of us then." Much happier expressions were displayed by draconic faces and she sighed. "Worse than parents they are."

Hiccup chuckled softly. "Yeah they are. Well, I'm getting later by the second." He stepped up to mount Toothless before his dragon gave him a nudge. "Wha- Oh." Turning back and blushing again he added."Yeah, hanging out would be good." Quickly swinging himself up, (this being one of the few actions that still felt natural, even with the fake leg) he looked to Astrid who had just mirrored his action and was now atop her Nadder. "Well, happy flying then. See you soon." His friend merely nodded and grinned in returned and together by unspoken command the two pairs launched into the sky, one heading towards home, the other over the open ocean for one last flight.

As the four wound their separate ways, unbeknownst to them the wind shifted, blowing directly from the North. As any old Viking grandmother can tell you, when such winds start to blow the best place to be is home, 'round the fire and not out venturing. But stubborn girls not often heed the advice of the elder generation, and as the winds grew stronger on they flew.


	2. Chapter 2

Well part two is here very early. The first took the better part of several months as the muse came and went, and this took two days. That said, our little adventure continues along. I've a few more comments at the end but I'd like to throw out that the only part of this I claim is the plot. HTTYD ain't mine.

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><p>Part Two<p>

Open sky and fresh air; that was why she loved this new way of life so much. Wind rushing past her face, Astrid reveled in the freedom of the sky, her friend echoing the emotion with a happy rumble. Even as he did so, something itched at the back of his mind. Something was approaching that wasn't any good and the urge to turn around grew strong enough for him to sweep round in a circle, drawing a protest from his friend riding on his back, but he had to see what was giving him the feeling of unease.

Together the two stared in shock at the thing coming from the North. From the ocean surface to where the dark grey clouds cut off the sky, a sheet of white reigned supreme. It was the edge of a blizzard, and it was moving quickly towards them. Taking a deep breath to calm any nerves, Astrid took another good look before noting the few large flakes starting to blow by as they flew on.

"Alright, let's get back to Burk then." Her friend didn't need any encouragement, and wheeling in the direction that he knew as home now, began the journey as fast as he could. Looking back, she saw the white mass gaining on them and as more snow began to outpace the progress they were making, she knew that the journey back was going to be very close. Bending low to make flying easier for her Nadder she silently urged him on, every now and again looking back to see where the storm front was. Each time it had gotten closer and closer and suddenly the temperature dropped.

Thinking darkly about the choice to leave her heavy coat at home, Astrid peered again back at the storm to be met with the painful sting of snowflakes flying into her face. Annoyed she looked forward again to be met with the sight of a quickly fading landscape. The storm had finally caught up with them and now they were in real trouble. The winds were far worse amidst the snowfall itself and her Nadder had stopped trying for speed in favor of remaining on something that could vaguely be called a course. Pelted with snow, she fought back a shiver, calling out encouragement. "We must be close. Keep at it." Words aside, she knew they were in trouble now, and that the best plan of action was to reach the closest point of land and wait out the storm there.

Getting that somewhere was the problem now, lost in the universally white sky. She could more or less tell her friend had decided the same thing that had passed through her mind and was descending listening for waves that signaled they were still over water. The cold spray hit before the noise did, however, and as they climbed again, the elements finally gained their first victory over the tough young girl, provoking a shiver and a desperate wish for home and warmth. Still, on they flew into the white unknown, hoping against hope that they could find their way to somewhere safe and dry.

Back in Burk things were looking equally as bleak from Hiccup's point of view. While dragon training had changed drastically since he'd gone through it, some things always stayed the same. Mainly this was the sheer incompetence of the newest class. As he watched the group talk idly among themselves post lesson, Hiccup, sitting against Toothless broke down the group for the benefit of his friend.

"Right, so we have two fighters this time, both who can't use their heads and think they know everything. There's another 'good' warrior, he kind of reminds me of Astrid but he's going to be hopeless when it comes real flying if he's afraid of being five feet off the ground. Then there's the thinker who'd probably do ok if he could open his mouth to speak, and we can round it off with the klutz, who is less coordinated than me right now. Oh boy." A light nudge on the shoulder made him sigh slightly. "Yeah. They'll learn, most of them. The hard part is teaching them anything when they all are trying to impress me. Like I'm a hero or something." Another nudge, this time with an amused rumble. "It was a team effort and you know it. Anyway, that's the problem right now. If you have any great ideas, feel free to let me know."

A gust of wind swept across the island just then, and looking up towards the sky Hiccup noted the dark clouds. "That- does not look good." Half turning, he got his good foot under him and using Toothless as an aid pulled himself upright. Atop the arena as he was, the location provided him an excellent view of the surrounding area and his attention was quickly drawn to the incoming front in the distance. Movement beside him meant that Toothless had stood as well, and together they stood silent, looking towards the distance. "I hope Astrid makes it back before that hits." A nod of solemn agreement from Toothless was the only answer. With that there was nothing the two could do but watch and wait.

In the heart of the storm, a bit of good luck finally came Astrid's way. Having abandoned the idea of getting home, by a stroke of luck and perhaps a gust of wind at the right time, her Nadder had reached land. The pair had no idea if they were on an island, an iceberg that was snow covered, or somewhere else all together. Not that they were exactly going to look to closely. Land was land, and some place to build a shelter for warmth. Doing his best to come in for a landing, her friend spread his wings wide, ready for touchdown when something else nagged at the back of his vision. This time he acted without thinking, wings pumping hard, desperate for altitude. He remembered the smell, which had briefly reached him through the wind and wanted no part of it again.

"Hey, why are we-" Through the white, something moved, something very large, something so big as to be seen through the blinding sheets of snow. Unable to make out a form, Astrid's mouth went dry. They still weren't far off the ground, and she suddenly found herself preferring the unknown of the sky to the unknown of 'whatever' that was. Higher the two climbed, away from whatever that was, towards the safety of the mass of snow clouds above. Again bent flat so that her dragon could muster every ounce of speed possible she remained quiet. No use in giving whatever was out there a chance to find them again. Hopefully, when they reached Burk after the storm, she could recruit the others to come back and see exactly what it was, so that if necessary they could get rid of it.

Thought complete she began to relax when the two flew straight into a downdraft. The burst of wind threw the pair downwards like some giant slingshot, and despite the best efforts of her friend they hit the ground hard. A cry of pain escaped her Nadder, who was already trying to get airborne again, the scent from before having returned. Feeling sore, more or less all over, Astrid started to protest this action when out in the white the something moved again. It wasn't yet visible, but it was enough to propel her Nadder to even more frantic efforts to escape. Craning her neck, Astrid tried to look, to see just what was following them, even though her heart was beating a furious tattoo in her chest and every fiber of her being screamed to hide.

They were traveling fast and low now, for her friend hadn't bothered with trying to climb again. Anywhere else at low altitude would work just fine for him, and for once, Astrid was more than happy to run away from something. Looking over her shoulder again, she saw movement and making a snap decision tapped her left foot against her Nadder's hide. This was one of a few agreed upon signals, and obeying her friend snapped a quick left turn. Still scanning their surroundings she saw the large dark thing lunge out at where they would have been. They were being hunted. This knowledge settled her nerves slightly, this game she could play and could win. "Alright, here we go." Seeing something out of the corner of her eye, both feet tapped twice, and her Nadder again trusting in his rider's judgment put everything he had into a near vertical climb. For once the winds had calmed and as he climbed Astrid again looked back to see that the shape had again missed.

No longer cold due to the surge in adrenaline, she tapped with the right foot and the pair swung right. They were now running parallel to the wind, and Astrid knew if they could get downwind on the creature, her dragon would have a vague idea of where the danger lay, and they'd be untraceable by smell. They had to get there first though, and that was the hard part. Head still on a swivel, she realized that the snow had again fully hidden whatever was out there. For a long minute of flight nothing happened and she began to relax again. That'd been slightly more than close for comfort. Now, if they could get some distance between them before crossing to the things front, they'd be more or less safe. Closing her eyes a moment she heard her Nadder squawk in surprise and opened her eyes to see what it was. Unable to see anything she was confused until her world dropped out from under her, and she was alone, falling through the white.

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><p>Well, all is definitely not well in the land of ice and snow. Something big bad and scary is out and about as Astrid is quickly finding out. I still am very nervous about dialog, reassurance and critique on that as well as the story in general is welcome. Also, fun fact. From this point on the severity of major happenings and events that would ordinarily be decided by luck are being decided by a roll of the dice. That's all I've got for now. The next update won't be till next week this time due to end of semester being upon me. Also, it's a proven fact that people who review this story get reviews in return.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

And after a long break which saw me move to Montana for the Summer I'm back with the next part. Not much else to say other than I'll get back on schedule now as I've settled into work and such. As always, only the plot is mine.

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><p>All afternoon long Hiccup and Toothless waited. At first they kept to their self dubbed observation post on top of the area but as the snow fall increased and the winds grew stronger even they were driven indoors. As storms went, this was as bad as it got. Huddled in one corner of the vast Dining Hall with Toothless, Hiccup overheard a group of elderly women talking in low tones. "Bad, very bad storm." The others all nodded to each other before another spoke up. "I feel it in my bones. This won't last long. Be sunny by tomorrow afternoon." More nodding, and slowly the women moved closer to the roaring fire in the hearth, talking quieter.<p>

Boy and dragon looked at each other. Was it true? Odin he hoped so, as soon as it was flying weather he planned to be up in the sky searching for Astrid. By now it was clear that she wasn't going to return tonight. The weather was too bad, and flying was dangerously stupid now, up from crazily stupid that had been his judgment earlier in the afternoon. No, if she was smart, and he knew Astrid had a brain even if she did like the physical method of dealing with things far more, she'd hole up with her dragon somewhere out of the wind and fly in as soon as was prudent. Knowing that was most likely her course of action he tried to make himself relax but couldn't. Scenarios kept coming to his mind: She'd hurt herself somehow and was unable to fly, her dragon had sprained a wing and they were stranded, the Green Death's cousin had invaded and- No, that last one wasn't worth thinking about. No dragon like the one they had killed could have a sibling of any sort. He hoped.

Correction, he really, really hoped. If he had to lose a limb every time something like that came along, he'd hang up the hero mantra as fast as was possible and go find somewhere nice and warm to settle down and life out his life with Toothless. Astrid could visit the two of them, and everything would be peaceful. Provided that she got back ok. Sighing he rearranged his limb and a half into a more comfortable position, and shifted slightly so that he was leaning into Toothless more. The sleeping dragon didn't stir and as the wind took the opportunity to rattle the tightly shuttered windows for the umpteenth time that night, Hiccup gave up on sleep all together. Between the noise, the hard floor, his worries, and his aching stump; sleep was out of the question.

Deciding he might as well alleviate the last problem, he leaned forward again and with deft fingers quickly unfastened his fake leg. The ache faded marginally and he gently rubbed the stump, annoyed at how every time the weather changed it had to hurt, like the old women earlier had complained about their joints. Sighing softly again he placed the stump beside him and settled back against his dragon. It was going to be a very long night.

As long nights went, his was relatively mild compared to another's out in forsaken dark, miles from anyone or anything friendly. In the desolate cold Astrid Hofferson lay still protected from the wind by a small cave that was part of a modest cliff face. The cliff and its cave had been both a blessing and a curse since earlier that day when the Nadder had bucked her off its back. Surprisingly clear headed at the moment, she remembered the squawk, being thrown, the riding straps that held her secure breaking, and then falling for a few seconds. During the fall she'd taken a split second guess at which way ground was in the driving snow and twisting her body to take the fall equally, discovered she'd guessed wrong another second later when the right side of her body had met snow covered rock. The impact had been excruciatingly painful, the thud accompanied by a loud snap and a sudden sharp pain on the right side of her hip. She'd broken things before, once or twice, but this was far worse. She might have screamed, she couldn't quite remember. The noise of the storm had overpowered everything else so it would remain an unanswered question. Broken whatever aside, she'd been on solid ground and that was a tentatively good thing. At least, it had been until she rolled off the rock that had broken the bone only to discover that she had landed on the edge of a cliff.

It hadn't been a long fall, but she'd twisted again somehow and again landed on her right side. Something else had popped or snapped, she wasn't quite sure which. Either way, the pain finally overwhelmed her and she had fainted. Waking up some time later, she had laid there in the snow for a long while as the pain had throbbed gently. Though the cold had its own risks, at least it took the edge off of the agony that was- well her body. The right side in particular, but it felt like everywhere had some bruise or scrape.

All alone, scared witless, Astrid had mustered the courage to sit up, and on the first attempt was halted by the blinding pain that was her hipbone. Another few moments lying there and she tried again, slower. Using her left arm to push herself up, a sitting position was obtained. Tentatively she moved her right arm and stopped when her shoulder seared white hot pain in protest. Marking that down as damaged, the young Viking looked around a moment, trying to see through the blizzard. The cliff was visible, a mere three paces away, but the entire remainder of the landscape was hidden by the sheets of snow continuing to pummel the ground.

Shelter, she needed shelter above all else right now, and the cliff was it. She didn't dare try and stand, but after a bit of shifting she had discovered amidst the pain and cold that a shuffling movement was possible using the mostly undamaged side of her body. Slowly Astrid pulled herself to the side of the cliff and felt the wind die down as she came under its protection. Taking a moment to rest after her exertions, she examined the rock face and chanced upon what appeared to be a cave opening some distance away. A cave meant real shelter, and a slight bit more warmth and so she set off again with that awkward half crawl. Every movement she made seemed to hurt now, but she knew if she stopped now death would be a scant step behind her. And so she pushed herself every inch of the way to that cave, the deepening snow providing both a cushion to her body and an obstruction when she failed to find a sturdy footing for her next crawl movement.

Finally, after what seemed like ages of agonizingly slow progress she found herself in front of the cave. Deciding that it was better to go inside and risk being eaten than staying out and face the certainty of freezing to death, she slowly dragged her way inside, making it in just far enough to be protected from the wind and blowing snow before her strength gave out all together. There she lay, taking stock of her injuries for the longest time as her mind began working past everything that had happened. She couldn't be completely sure what had happened due to the speed of events, but she'd never been thrown before, only something grabbing her Nadder would have made her leave the saddle like that. Something very big, that was still very much out there, probably looking for more food.

She tried to accept the fact that her friend was gone for good, but it didn't work, and so she switched thoughts, trying to ignore her body shivering in the cold. The cave did provide a little bit of warmth by getting her out of the wind, but she still was out in the cold, with no gear, and no fire. The storm was picking up too, by the sound of the wind and she knew that no search party would be coming until it blew out at the very earliest. By then, she could very well be dead by elements or beast. Hiccup would come though; he was probably worrying even now. The thought cut through some of the pain and cold and she smiled weakly. Yeah, he'd search under every rock until he found her. She just hoped he'd get lucky and try her rock first, because it was a race against time, and they were both losing. For now she could only wait and hope.

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><p>And that's all for now. Comments make me write faster, constructive critiques double the writing speed. Look for part for not this weekend but the next.<p> 


	4. Chapter 4

**And as a pleasant surprise, I'm back early. Reading the reviews given was a nice pick-me-up after work the other day and the next part rolled off my fingers before bedtime. Responses to specific reviews will be below the story post. As always, only the plot-line and shadowy thing in the snow are mine. **

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><p>Dawn rose and with it, Hiccup. For a long moment he held still for although he was stiff and sore, he was warm and for a brief span of time that was enough. Then his thoughts of the night before and the worries of the world caught up and he sat up. Shivering as the heat of Toothless left his back he thought for a moment longer. Something was missing and it struck him all of a sudden. There was no howling wind battering the shutters. Struggling to his foot with the help of the closest table he rose to a shaky stand and turned to look. Sunlight leaked through the shuttered windows and the first real hope he'd felt since the storm began in earnest snuck into his body.<p>

Then of course, hope and sun being far too much good luck for the morning, someone who was looking the other way ran right into him and sent him crashing to the ground. Luckily, he rolled with the landing and gained but a sore elbow for the trouble. Looking up, Hiccup strained to see just who was at fault but the busy person had long since gone on their way without realizing what they'd just done. Sighing, Hiccup marked another point up to the fates and since he was sitting once more, scooted over to where his leg had lain next to his Nightfury all night. Of course, it had to be freezing cold despite the padding he'd given this newest version and wishing he'd grabbed a thick woolen sock to pull over his stump before heading over to the Bunkhouse for the night, Hiccup slowly did up the lashings on the leg. Soon the leg was secure and it was time for the second task of the day and perhaps the most difficult- waking the sleeping lump next to him.

"C'mon bud, it's morning. Rise and shine." Hiccup watched in wry amusement for a moment as Toothless cracked an eye, grumbled softly, and then rolled to the other side and back to sleep. He was about to tease the dragon when urgent matters caught up once more, and firmly he shook the dragon's shoulder. "Toothless, Astrid's still out there. The snow's stopped and we can head on out."

The dragon rolled over again, both eyes open and serious. Gaze met gaze for a long searching moment and then with a slow but purposeful movement Toothless stood and began stretching- rather like a cat. Satisfied that his dragon would be ready in a few minutes for the daunting task ahead Hiccup walked over to a table and set his mind to work. When it came to searching he had a general direction to start out with. He knew the location Astrid had left from, knew the direction that she was headed in, and knew the speed, if roughly, of her Nadder. Based on that, he could try and guess the time they'd had to turn back and with all that information find a point of origin for his search.

As he began scratching out the math on a piece of paper on the table, the realist whispered that this was all guesswork, and that the missing pair could have made turns at any point in their flight to take them off his imaginary course. That also went for the return attempt which most certainly had gone off course. He comforted himself that he'd accounted for the last bit as they'd run a search grid back and forth for as long as the light lasted and the weather held so that no place could be missed. With all luck they'd spend a day at this and come back in the evening to find Astrid back home with a good story to tell that night over dinner.

Looking over his now sketched plan Hiccup couldn't help but hope this was the case and that the searching was just going to be a lot of boring flying that came with a happy ending. However, he had to plan for the worst and grabbing a second piece of loose paper he quickly wrote out a list. Such things as dry food, wood, fire starters, two blankets, a basic aid kit, and winter gear all went on this list. He'd likely not end up using any of it, but Astrid hadn't expected to be out for the night either. Reading over everything again he felt something bump his shoulder and looked up to see Toothless peering at his writing, inspecting the plan.

The dragon nodded to himself, as though he could read the words on the paper, and Hiccup got the feeling that approval had been given with a second nod and a look that said, 'Well, are we going or what?'

"I need to get a few things first, supplies just in case. C'mon." He stood slowly, and closing his eyes for a moment at the aching pain that was his leg slipped out from the bench. One hand on the dragon for support as he got his balance, the two strode off to get everything ready.

Dawn some great distance away was equally welcome, if not more so. Astrid was awake as light began streaming across the horizon and was coherent enough to be thankful that the snow had stopped as well. She'd given up on movement sometime that night after propping herself up against one of the cave walls. The girl still couldn't find a place that didn't hurt in some manner and had more or less stopped shivering as well, which she knew was a bad sign. Still, she strove to look on the bright side through the haze of pain and veiled fear. It was daylight, she was alive, and she'd not have to fear dehydration. She'd already eaten some good bit of snow that morning and had enough of a sense of humor left to wish for breakfast to go along with the drink.

Inwardly she figured that she'd be ok through the day. The sun would warm the land enough to hopefully dispel freezing and if the shadow in the snow from yesterday stayed away, Hiccup should find her before dark and they could-well they'd be able to do something. Shaking her head slightly, she knew that she wasn't thinking straight. She'd not be able to do anything for a good long while. Anything that could be done would be by Hiccup and Toothless and the most she could hope for was a blanket, and maybe a bit of a fire if he brought the right supplies. Then it would be a gods-cursed ride home and the sufferings of the Healer who hopefully- oh please Thor- hopefully wouldn't cut anything off. This thought on the top of her mind, she reflected that it was odd that someone who had no problems fighting with all sorts of weaponry and accepted the risks that came along with them should be afraid of a person who was meant to heal. However, there was little defense against the Healers saw, and perhaps it was the helplessness in that which scared her the most. Not that she'd ever admit such a thing of course.

Sighing heavily, she settled back to wait, thanking whatever gods were watching out for her that the wind had shifted. Early in the morning before the sun had risen it'd been blowing right into the cave which had been miserable. Now it was parallel again, coming from the North again she supposed. The sun rose higher in the sky and so she waited.

An aerial search is one of the hardest operations to complete successfully and yet one of the easiest. Hiccup found this paradox frustrating, and as he rode Toothless to the point he'd been sitting at yesterday he compared the pros and cons in his head. On the plus side, one could cover vast amounts of ground efficiently with a minimum of energy expended. You could work grids that slowly but surely narrowed down the options raising the chance of success with every passing lane. Best of all if you had multiple searchers ground could be covered ever quicker and more thoroughly. This in mind, he'd gone to round up the other four people he could call friends and fellow riders. He'd found them in bed and when he'd gone to rouse them had been soundly repulsed no matter what he'd said. They must have been up late telling stories to scare each other and only gotten to bed when the wind died down. He could have persisted, or better yet, have set Toothless on them, but the fact that time was passing kept nagging on him and he abandoned the attempt. He'd left a note with instructions for when they finally came around to assist in the search. Hopefully before noon he'd have a full flight of dragons searching and a happy finish soon after.

The leather satchels of supplies behind him, tied down to Toothless indicated the pessimism that reigned in the back of his mind however and as they passed over the cliff he'd sat at the other day he kept running down a list in his mind, hoping he'd not forgotten anything. A rumble by Toothless got his attention, and scanning the horizon he put the dragon's noise to words.

"This is it, we'll fly straight for a good while, I'll tell you when we start running lanes." He saw the dragon nod his head, and scanning the rolling whitecaps briefly turned his thoughts to the cons of aerial searches. For one, as he was quickly finding out, it was going to be almost impossible to pick out details at the height they were flying now. They'd have to slow down and lose altitude to stand a chance at seeing a snow cave or outcropping of rock that could indicate a shelter. It would be so easy to miss that one critical detail and mark an area as searched, leaving behind Astrid to freeze- No, he couldn't think of that. Shaking his head, he noted a change in the wind as did Toothless. Thinking a moment, he set their tailfin another notch down, angling the device so that the freshening wind didn't adversely affect his dragons flight.

Another rumble indicated Toothless' agreement with this move and with long wingstrokes the two moved onwards closer towards their goal. That something else might be sharing the sea and sky along with them went unthought-of. The wind bore silent witness to the beginning of the search, staying steady in its course and occasionally strengthening in speed. Blowing past the pair it wound its way across the ocean to a island village where several old women stood huddled on the heights. One slowly licked her finger and held it to the breeze for a long moment.

"From the North, and freshening. It'll be another one before the sun sinks below the horizon. I was wrong about last night's but this- gods help anyone out in this one.

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><p><strong>As always, I love comments and constructive reviews. They make me write faster. You can expect the next bit of this on Friday, for no matter how fast I write, I won't have an internet connection that lets me upload stories until then, unless someone rolls into town and I hitch a ride. <strong>

**Voldyne : Thanks, we'll have to wait and see what if anything they pick up in a days searching. **

**Lord Anubis: You've stumbled upon to my bad habit. I'll do my best to change my ways for the rest of this tale, but it may have to wait until I finish and go back and edit. **

**Underthesea: Thanks for the thoughts you've given, thats just the thing I'm after. I gave a clue as far as time lapse goes in the first part, mentioning it'd just been a few weeks. That's the basis of why Hiccup is still having the devil of a time with his leg and the like. And yes, Hiccup still is rather young to be training people, but he's the expert. Never said the job had to be easy, right?**

**Givinglight: Ask me no questions and I tell no lies. =) I will say that somewhere out there is something still, and that it might rear it's head soon. Also, as far as development in either the story or characters goes, it should start picking up in the next post or three. Also, fluff is not promised but we shall see.**

** Romance and Musicals: It is safe to assume that 50% of the pair is definitely *not* ok.**

**And that's all for now folks. I promise the next update is going to be lengthy, we've gotten all the chores and starts out of the way. Into the ice and snow until next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**And back once more, a bit later than I had planned. That said, enjoy and as always, only the plot and the shadowy thing(s) out in the fog are mine.**

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><p>It had started snowing again. Looking out across the white seemingly endless plains, a feeling of pleasure reached the mind of the nameless hunter. If it could have spoken, a single word would have echoed from the mind. One, long slowly drawn out, 'Perfect.'<p>

Crouched low in the building snow fall, the hunter knew that an easy meal was just within reach, a mere handful of paces away in a little cave. However, she ignored her stomach and waited patiently for she knew that the wounded meal in the cave was serving a far greater purpose. It was bait, for she had long studied these humans and had determined that whenever one went missing, several more were always dispatched to look for the missing. These were typically easy pickings themselves and made for a delightful feast.

Stomach rumbling in anticipation, the hunter ignored the want to rush in and feed and instead spread her senses out over the vast plain. The only sounds that met her patience were those of the howling wind and she snorted in frustration. If no-one showed up in this, the most perfect of weather conditions it would be most displeased and would have to ruin the trap by eating the wounded meal. And really, the meal was more of a snack, the beast had been-tasty, but the little ones were more like crunchy add-ons to a proper meal. Added onto that, the last had been an easy meal, a steal really. It took a stupid kind of hunter to leave fresh prey out on the tundra, but there it'd been and she wasn't the kind to pass up a free meal. But she wanted to play now, to smell the terror of the searches. It made eating so much more fun.

Settling down again, it curled up and waited as patiently as possible. With the swirling winds, smell would come into play far before sound and vision and so as long as someone came before nighttime, all would be well. This in mind, the shadow in the snow kept a vigil diligently throughout the passing hours and just as the sun was truly hanging low over the snow swept sky was rewarded for its patience. The scent was very faint, and was almost missed. Rising up, the shadow paused a long moment as the scent registered and muscles nearly sprang into action before the scent clicked and everything froze. It was him.

Now confused, the hunter ceased to be one for a moment as it sat and considered. Having no knowledge of events that had occurred several weeks prior it could only wonder why the Tempest of the Dark flew outside his domain. Rumbling in confusion, the beast sat still another long moment before another scent came on the wind. Human. The two scents were intermixed, and another long moment passed before it clicked. Disbelief hung in the swirling air for a moment. The Tempest of the Dark, captured and forced to do the bidding of humans? Impossible. Still, the signs pointed to it, and if it were true than the Tempest must have lost his edge. The beast knew deep within that at his peak, only an impossible chance attack could have brought the Tempest of the Dark down.

Another thought slowly clicked as it sat thinking. If he'd lost his edge- than he was vulnerable, especially outside his domain. This was her chance, and she'd never get another like it. The scent was growing stronger and spreading wings once more, it took to the snowy air, disappearing into the snow like it had never been there at all. The hunt was on.

Some distance away, Toothless did not like the situation that they'd gotten into. Craning his head right, and then left, his eyes saw only white. If his rider shared any of his thoughts at all, it was that this was not good. The second the snow had began falling in earnest, his attention had shifted from finding Astrid to something far more important. Straining his senses, he listened as his rider continued looking through the snow in vain. If she was out here- he'd hear her before anything else and would have but seconds to react.

The Viking Clan had made many good strides in learning about dragonkind since Hiccup had first surprised him that night long ago, but there were many things they didn't know. The creature that must be out in the snow mist was one of them. Still listening, Toothless knew very well there was a reason he'd never made a strike or long flight during the daylight and the snow. The reason was out here, somewhere.

"Toothless-this is hopeless, let's land and get out of the snow." The words of his rider hardly processed. His boy had finally accepted a primary fact of the situation, but there was one far more important he was missing. They weren't alone. Something indistinguishable to human hearing made him pause a wingbeat and glide for a long moment. His rider leaned forward to speak more closely and he rumbled quietly, which made the boy pause and listen as well. Good, he was learning.

He held the glide as long as he could in the buffeting wind, but eventually he was forced to start pumping his wings again. As he began to do so, he heard it again and couldn't help but be impressed. She was matching his wingbeats, almost perfectly. They were being stalked then, unusual for her, but then again- The thought was put on pause as he flared his wings back a moment. The click of his fin changing via Hiccup to help was painfully loud to him but in the brief period when wind was the only sound he heard it again. She was very much out there, hunting them. The fact accepted, the dragon knew he had two problems on his wings.

The first was the boy brimming with curiosity and worry on his back, liable to speak any second and give their exact position away. Secondly was the fact that she could be anywhere in this swirling snow and wind. He couldn't get an exact fix, or even a general direction. She had the advantage in what would very shortly become an ambush. At that point, time slowed down for a brief second, and more guessing that calculating, he folded his wings and dropped. Hiccup's shout of surprise became one of fear when something whizzed by overhead just missing his head.

"What was that?" Running a hand through his hair, the boy was surprised to find it all there. His words were met by a low rumble from Toothless, whose wings were out again after the surprise drop. Looking around wildly, Hiccup found only snow, but his mind told him that they'd just run across something very dangerous. Toothless' flying had become very conservative and the dragon was pausing his wingbeats every third or fourth beat as if listening to an invisible signal. Full to bursting with words, Hiccup forced them away and focused on his dragon, eyes grim. While he didn't know what the flying thing had been, he could figure enough out to know that it was out for their blood.

Sitting ready, he watched his dragon's muscles carefully and sure enough a few seconds later Toothless veered left hard. Hiccup leaned into the turn, having adjusted the fin automatically. He bent low over the black hide as mere spans away something flashed by. This time Toothless sent a shot of fire after it. Watching, the boy saw it was a clean miss, but for a brief instant it highlighted a lean figure with wings that quickly vanished into the snow. He blinked, and found that he could hardly remember what he'd seen; such was the vagueness of the shape and coloration. Putting his trust in his dragon, he watched again as Toothless steady climbed. His dragon had abandoned the stealth approach now that they'd been sighted, and he was actively looking around. Hiccup turned to look as well, first left and the right. Then, as a final thought he looked behind him, and felt, more than saw something approaching through the snow.

"Down!" The fin clicked, and Toothless folded his wings with a sharp snap once more and down they plunged. Pressing tight against his dragon again, Hiccup could swear he felt something touch his back as it went overhead. A loud cry emanated from the creature, and if he had to put an emotion to it, Hiccup would have said it sounded frustrated. Sitting upright again, the morbidly amusing thought came to mind, 'You'll have to work harder than that, we're a tougher meal than you've ever found before.' Than it was back to scanning the snow sheets intently for any sign that attack number four was coming.

Muscles tense, he waited, head swiveling back and forth. Nothing happened for long moments as Toothless climbed, then paused to listen. Slowly, a hopeful thought emerged. Perhaps the creature had given up and gone after easier prey. But in a snow storm what other prey was there? A cold knot formed in his stomach despite the layers of clothing he'd put on. It was going after Astrid. She was probably on the edge of its territory, waiting out the next storm.

"Toothless, it's got to be heading for Astrid. Can you follow?" Was his boy crazy? Following her deeper into the storm? However, what he said made sense, and they'd not been attacked for a good while now. The odd thing was that he'd picked up her scent, which did not happen unless she was switching to tactic number two. He knew that, yes, following her scent would potentially lead them to Astrid, or, what was left of her. However, they'd also be heading straight into a trap. The dragon mulled this over for a long moment before altering course. As one who had for many seasons broken traps he knew the best way to beat one was to set it off before it was ready.

Turning, the Night Fury followed the scent, eyes narrowed and body tense. He'd try this, but it didn't mean he had to like it. Every single warning sign was flashing in his head, but on he flew, just fast enough to keep the scent, and pausing to make sure they weren't being doubled back on, or that the winds weren't blowing such that she could be behind them and still lead them on. It made the going slow and his boy impatient, but it would hopefully save their lives.

Hiccup bit his lip and looked around. Odin he hoped that he'd made the right decision. Looking around in the white maelstrom he couldn't see anything. The conditions were such that snow was clinging to his leather harness now, and twisting around he saw it on the tailfin as well. Looking down at the shifting mechanisms, he couldn't see anything amiss, but knew inwardly that ice was probably forming there as well. They'd have to thaw everything out after this flight and make sure nothing was loose or broken. Looking again, Hiccup knew that if it came to fighting again out here, there was only one outcome in the long run. It wasn't something he cared to think about and so he shifted back to scanning the blizzard. The winds had picked up as well, and if he hadn't been tied into the harness the gusts would have blown him loose. How Toothless could determine anything in this weather was beyond him.

Shortly, he felt Toothless come to a hover. The dragon was looking around, and Hiccup could only guess he'd lost the scent. Uncertain, he looked around again, and had just craned his head to the left when Toothless shot forward. Jerked back around Hiccup looked up and to the left once more staring down the throat of the onrushing hunter. Pale blue light was rolling up the creature's throat and he had just enough time to yell before Toothless dropped again. The blue went roaring by overhead and Hiccup realized it wasn't flame, but ice and that his back was now very cold. The creature shot by overhead once again and Hiccup decided enough was enough.

"Let's get him." Stepping on the shift, the two rolled in a tight right turn to give chase, the creature still visible, however faintly. Working the tailfin into its tightest setting Hiccup heard through the wind a clear metallic clink and the shift went loose. There was enough time for, "Oh no, not again." Then the roll became an uncontrolled dive into the white abyss.

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><p><strong>I hate to end a chapter like this, but there you have it. I'm going to push hard and try and get the next part up before Monday, but it's going to be a large section and I'm not sure if it'll happen. In the meantime, reviews are proven to make me write faster as is constructive criticism. Also for those counting, we now have one large scary shadow in the snow, and one perhaps even more scary small shadow. This may not end well. <strong>

**Review Replies**

**Underthesea: Glad you enjoyed. For the record, the moment you wrote of was totally unplanned. It was a last minute add on, and I rather like it as well.**

**Lord Anubis: Thanks, hope you enjoyed this part as well.**


	6. Chapter 6

**After a very late night here it is. And before I get on with the story, a quick note that was brought to my attention by a review. There are, as of now, two things out in the snow that mean our friends no good. This chapter, we'll get up close and personal with our smaller shadow in the snow, and run into the bigger thing sometime later. I apologize for any confusion this may have caused. As always enjoy, and only the plot and things in the snow storm are mine.**

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><p>If they hadn't been tumbling out of control in a blizzard with a vengeful hunter nearby, Hiccup would have almost been amused. How many times had this happened now? As it was, he gritted his teeth and hung onto his dragon with all the muscle he had. Toothless had flared his wings back hard, in an attempt to control the spinning and was slowly but surely gaining some vestige of control over the descent. Though his head was still spinning painfully, Hiccup slowly began to relax when something slammed into them painfully hard and sent them spinning again.<p>

A roar of victory echoed in his ears and as he shut his eyes again to help negate some of the awful spinning feeling he guessed that the shadowy beast was enjoying the sudden change in fortune. Before he could process that they were being played with by the beast instead of killed outright there when yet another jarring collision occurred. Still spinning, Toothless tried a guesswork fireball, which missed cleanly.

"Fly first, fight second Toothless. I don't know how close we are to-" His words were cut off suddenly, as with a immense 'Whump' the two hit snow hard. Dazed, Hiccup hung limp from his harness, not awake enough to realize that they'd somehow gotten lucky enough to land upright. For a long moment there was nothing but the wind and the snow again before Hiccup opened his eyes with a tremendous effort. Slowly he sat upright and dismounted, aware that there wouldn't be any more flying done today.

"Toothless, you alright?" The question was half shouted into the driving winds that were prevalent near the ground and it was with bated breath that Hiccup waited for his words to be received. Finally after what seemed an age, the dragon stirred, folding his wings slowly before rising to his feet. Relief ran through Hiccup and he took a step forward so as to speak with Toothless. As he did so, his fake leg sank through the span and a half of snow that had fallen in the past two days and he fell forward into the snow. He felt himself get picked back up an instant later by the back of his shirt and reaching out a hand, skin met dragonhide.

Looking up, he saw that Toothless was alert and worried, glancing at him to make sure he was ok before returning to scanning the surroundings, and then going back to him again. The dragon rumbled loudly and jerked his head back to the saddle. Hiccup nodded, even if he didn't like what the Nightfury was saying.

"Alright, just a second bud." Setting his weight on his real leg, Hiccup pulled the fake out of the snow. As he did so, his real leg sank slightly, but held long enough for him to place the fake in the stirrup and mount Toothless. As he swung up, it struck him he'd neglected to bring snowshoes of any kind- essential for any kind of travel out here and for him more than most. Now mounted he leaned forward again. "Shelter, Toothless. Anything out of the wind and away from 'that' will do." He saw Toothless nod once before the dragon leapt forward. No wings spread like he was used to and together they bounded through the snow, knowing fair well that the beast would be looking for them again.

It was a far different ride than he was used to, and Hiccup took a long moment to settle into his dragon's stride. Then, once he was able to stay on without concentrating, he let his eyes search into the deep white snow that encompassed the land, looking for any sign that would mean they'd been found. Time passed as they plodded on, their backs to the driving wind. It was the quickest way to get anywhere, as lost as they were. Still alert Hiccup could only wonder why the beast hadn't struck again. Surely she hadn't lost their scent? Finally he settled on the idea that she was still playing with them and would strike just before shelter came into reach. He was getting cold now, despite the layers of clothing, and he Toothless must be feeling the weather as well. At least the dragon was keeping somewhat warm by merit of his half running pace, and constant motion. Still more time passed and Hiccup began to cautiously hope. The snow was driving harder than ever, but the wind had died down, gusting only occasionally. They spotted it at the same time, something standing tall against the elements in the distance and needing no encouragement, Toothless turned slightly to head towards it, grateful of whatever protection it might provide.

Not so far away, the huntress was furious. He'd gotten away, they both had! How they'd managed to do it, she'd never know. Still searching, the creature was in a foul temper now, and inwardly knew it wasn't helping her chances of reclaiming the most excellent meal that was probably getting away. Setting down a moment to think, the huntress knew her opponent was cunning. There had been a moment in the chase earlier where he'd gained an advantage before suddenly giving it away again. It was unlike him, and she supposed the human had something to do with it.

There could be no other reason why he'd been out of control like that. The Tempest of the Dark was the most skilled flier in all the frozen lands. Unless- Raising her nose she took another deep breath and started walking slowly across the snow. Stopping no longer than a hundred paces later she examined the deep pit in the snow that something had made. It clicked in an instant- the clever Tempest. He'd pulled trick, a very devious trick on her. Abandoning the skies where he must have known she was superior, he'd taken to the ground, knowing he'd gain time while she was confused. Thinking a moment longer the huntress froze. No, this was bad- they could make it to her snack at this distance. No! A furious scream echoed from her throat and she launched skywards again, staying low and flying fast. This would not happen!

Slowly but surely, the distant shape resolved itself into a cliff. As it did, Hiccup grew even more wary than he'd been out in the open. Sure, it was shelter, but it could also be the beast's home. Finally, after what seemed like ages they came under the shelter of the cliff proper and Toothless slowed to a walk, breathing hard. Hiccup wanted to tell his dragon to take a break and relax, but they couldn't until they'd found shelter properly. So they began to walk along the cliff hoping against hope for a cave. A short while later, they found the answer to their prayers- for just visible in the distance a cave opening waited. At a faster pace they headed towards it, beast or no it was shelter. A sudden screaming cry from nearby indicated that the beast had found their scent again along the cliff and Hiccup urged Toothless silently on as they broke into a run once more. Closer and closer they came until Toothless turned sharply and came to screeching halt. Hiccup began to protest when he caught sight of what his dragon was looking at. Leaning against the wall, looking grey with cold, blood all over, and eyes closed was none other than Astrid.

Swinging down from Toothless, he walked over slowly. She didn't stir at all at the noise of a panting dragon and the clinking of rock meeting his fake leg and a knot was suddenly present in his stomach. Carefully kneeling down, Hiccup whispered, almost afraid to disturb the quiet.

"Astrid?" No response, and the knot got a little bigger. Reaching out a hand, he placed it on the girl's neck, and felt for a pulse. It was something he'd learned from the Village Healer when he was still recovering from his own injury. Closing his eyes he concentrated hard, willing to feel movement against his fingers. Finally, after what seemed like ages he felt something. Still not willing to believe he waited again- and there it was! Almost laughing in relief he spoke aloud. "It's a pulse Toothless. We made it." He turned to look for the dragon and was surprised when the Nightfury wasn't looking over his shoulder but rather out the cave, wings partially open and eyes wary. He rumbled warningly and was answered by a roar from outside.

They'd been trapped, but as things had developed, Toothless found he really didn't mind. They were out of the elements, in an easily protected cavern and she had lost. He could tell that she knew it as well, she didn't roar unless angry. Waiting, he knew what came next and sure enough from out of the white sheet came a blast of ice blue rushing towards them. This he could deal with, and responding with a fireball of his own watched as the two elements met, clashed, and dissipated in a wave of colors. There was a scream of fury from outside and he roared his own response, defiant and proud. Another streak of ice blue came towards him and again he responded in kind.

Smugly, he knew he could keep this up all day and well into the night again before feeling remotely drained. And time was now in their favor, the storm would only last so long before dying, and then the rest of his friends would be out hunting for them. He'd be able to use his flame to signal and they'd be found shortly. Yes, she'd lost this battle and he had won, and if she was anything like days in the past, it would infuriate her. Just as him winning always had. Keeping a steady gaze on the exit, Toothless felt a hand on a wing and then his boy was speaking.

"Hold still a moment Toothless, I need to get the supplies off you." Well that made sense, and the dragon hurried his boy- now more of a man after their adventures up to this day, with a soft rumble. Waiting, he felt the weight of the pack leave his back and he resumed his vigilant watch. As he did so another jet of the blue came from a point high in the sky and almost immediately after another from ground level. He met each in turn with flame. She'd stopped screaming at him, which meant she was either on the verge of exhaustion herself, or trying something radically new.

So his watch carried on, and behind him he heard the sounds of a fire being built. His rider knew he was busy and the sound of wood on wood became audible as Hiccup got the fire going. While this was occurring he dealt with another single blast from the right and then a short bit later, the left. The crackling of fire proper was now audible and he set his mind to thinking as he watched. What other tricks could she try? He got his answer a moment later as a shape leapt from the right of the cliff to the entrance, roaring as it did, the familiar ice blue erupting out of her mouth in a bolt. He had just enough time to meet it with flame and the result at such close quarters was much more explosive. The two elements met, and his flame flared into an explosion. Such was the force that he was driven back a pace, and she was as well. Hiccup's cry of fright echoed in the cave and for a long moment there was silence as the two dragons eyed each other in a standoff.

From where he huddled over Astrid's limp body to shield her from any further attack, Hiccup didn't have the slightest idea of what was happening once the explosion had faded. Ears still ringing, he glanced up, and what he saw was both awesome and terrifying. Toothless stood in the mouth of the cave, eyes narrowed and wings half spread. Outside, almost mirroring his friend was a dragon, white in color in the exact same pose. They were almost exact twins, and were this a calmer situation he would have asked the two to stand nose to nose so he could compare them. Mind racing many things came to mind then, was this another Nightfury, of a different coloring, a completely different dragon race, or some mixture of the two? An Icefury, maybe, living in the blizzards as opposed to Toothless, who loved the night.

He saw the blue light welling up again and crouched low over Astrid as he knew what was coming. The shock of the explosion hit softer this time for some reason and when he looked up, only Toothless remained. Sitting back he opened his mouth to speak, closed it as the words weren't right, and only opened it again to comment on matters that were fixable.

"Now that that's over, I don't suppose you can relight my fire, without so much of a bang please?" His request was granted and then the Nightfury resumed his vigil. Shaking his head in disbelief, Hiccup turned back to the other matter on hand. Astrid looked so beat up he didn't know where, or how to begin fixing her up. Her trousers were soaked with blood on the right, and her right shoulder was the same. Bruises were everywhere, and she'd picked up more than a few scrapes and cuts as well. Whistling softly in awe of everything she'd taken and still survived Hiccup formulated a plan.

He was no official healer, and furthermore wouldn't know exactly what was wrong until Astrid awoke. Until then, he did have a bottle of cleaning alcohol in the aid kit, and a rag. He'd clean up the cuts as best he could, and if she still wasn't awake give her a bit of water. Then he'd lay down a blanket as padding, with the heavier for warmth and start warming her up. Satisfied that it was as good as a plan as was possible, he moved towards the Aid Kit and was busy rummaging through supplies when a voice broke the silence of the crackling fire.

"Hiccup?" Grabbing a rag and the bottle, he turned without falling for once and saw Astrid was awake, and trying to sit forward. Walking over as quickly as he could, he knelt down and looked the girl in the eye. There was none of the usual spark, only question and a tiny but of confusion.

"Yeah, it's me. Just sit back for now, ok?" He watched as Astrid did as asked, and knew she was hurting bad, to obey without question. The knot in his stomach had eased considerably by this point and hope flourished, even if Astrid was badly hurt, she was awake now. She nodded at his 'ok' and he took that as a sign to proceed. "I'm going to clean you up a little bit, you've got quite the set of scrapes all over."

He got another nod, and biting his lip, went to work. Odin her skin was cold, and she hardly twitched as he worked. Addressing first her arms he knew that she was tough, but the alcohol stung something fierce. It made him work all the faster, and soon the scrapes on her lower arms were taken care of. He moved to touch her right should, to roll up the tattered sleeve and inspect the damage there, but was met but a wince and a wimper of pain. Looking up he asked a one word question.

"Broken?" Astrid nodded, and finding words weakly gestured to her hip.

"That to, hurts like hellfire." Hiccup nodded, and noting what she said continued on with his work. Going back to the right sleeve he gently rolled it up, aware of Astrid's body wincing at the pain. Sleeve now pulled up, Hiccup examined her should with an inexperienced eye. There was a nice gash, but no bone sticking out, for which he was eternally grateful. If it was broken, it wasn't a horrible break. Gingerly cleaning the gash, he decided it was big enough to deserve a bandage of its own. Retrieving the roll of cloth, he wound it around lightly, so as not to cause more undue pain. It still hurt her, he could tell by her breathing and the occasional wince, but it had to be done.

Shoulder dealt with as best he knew how, Hiccup moved onto the other shoulder, cleaning scrapes where needed. Nothing else needed a bandage there, and he studied his friends face a long moment before moving on. No cuts there, but several impressive bruises, one on her left cheek, and another over the right eye. Smiling reassuringly, he turned a moment, and taking another piece of wood they'd brought along, placed it onto the fire.

"Feeling any warmer?"

"Yeah, a little." The words were good news and he decided to give the good and the bad together.

"Alright. Once I'm done, we'll get you wrapped up in a blanket and really warm you up. Before that, I should take a look at your hip though, and at least get the blood off." He locked eyes with her, and after a moment's hesitation she nodded. With permission given, Hiccup leaned and undid the drawstrings to her trousers, and seeking to preserve some form of modesty pulled them down only as far as he needed to examine the damage. Keeping his gaze strictly on the bloody right side of her hip, he bit his lip and frowned. The gash just below her waist was deep enough to need stitches, at the very least. Again, the broken bone was thankfully not sticking out, but as he laid a hand lightly on her leg to begin cleaning, Astrid twitched, not out of embarrassment, but of pain. Hiccup looked up and saw her biting her lip to keep from making noise again.

"I'll be quick as I can, promise." With that, he began cleaning, and occasionally a whimper did slip, despite her best efforts. Finally, after what seemed like ages, the wound was clean and Hiccup knew that it was time for the hard part. He'd done a fair bit of sewing before, and was confident that he could patch Astrid's leg up just fine. The hard part was that he had nothing to relieve pain. Back in the village, the Healer had some sort of cream, which when rubbed on an area made it go numb. Sadly, there was none of that in his aid kit, just the needle and thread. Taking a deep breath he looked the girl in the eye again.

"Almost done, I just have to close the gash, so nothing else gets inside." He saw the nod and thanked the gods silently that she was a tough girl among tough Vikings. Moving slowly back to the aid kit, he withdrew the needle and held it in the fire a long moment to sterilize it. Threading it with the strong sinew that came with the needle he moved back to his friend. He saw her eyes following the needle and as he bent low to his work, she shifted suddenly. Looking up he saw fright in her eyes. It was an entirely new thing and something clicked in his head. Everyone had their own demon, and this he supposed was hers. Still he could do a little to help.

"Toothless, can you come here a minute?" The dragon had been gazing outside for a long time now, but at the words padded over. Hiccup saw the eyes take in the needle, the fear that was escaping Astrid's mask, and the dragon pressed in close. Hiccup saw Astrid throw her good arm around the dragon's neck, and she buried her face in the dark hide. Hiccup wasted no time, but began immediately. Each motion of the needle was accompanied by a flinch or shudder, and occasionally a small cry and he stopped after each so as not to throw off his work. Slowly though, the work drew to an end, and cutting the sinew with his beltknife, he pronounced, "All done."

Toothless moved back, allowing Hiccup to see Astrid and the few tears that had escaped during the operation. Scooting in closer, Hiccup helped his friend pull her pants back up before moving beside Astrid and placing an arm around the girl. Without a word, she leaned her head on his shoulder, hiding the tears once again. Toothless, who had been silently rummaging through things, found the blankets, and dragged them over to where they were sitting against the walk. Hiccup took them, and wrapping the material around the two of them gazed into the fire silently. Words couldn't do anything right now, and so as night came across the land, silence reigned supreme among the watchful dragon and the two young Vikings.

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><p><strong>Well, everyone's still alive for now. But we're along way from being home, safe, and warm. As always, reviews make me write faster, and constructive criticism even moreso. <strong>

**Reviews: **

**Systemman: Glad you enjoyed, it was fun writing.**

**Voldyne: It's working out so far, still have to deal with the things in the snow though.**

**CG: Number three delivered as requested**

**Lord Anubis: Hope this answered your question. If you're still puzzled shoot me a TG and I can spell it out for you.**

**Until next weekend my friends and readers.**


	7. Chapter 7

**So, after many and varied adventures, I'm back. The short version is that I was returning to school from Montana. The long version can be found below. As always, I can claim nothing but the monsters in the snow and the plot-line who's ending is far from decided.**

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><p>She was, to put it lightly, furious. Beaten at her own game, forced to watch her meal get better, only her common sense held her back from rushing whole-heartedly into the cavern again to pick a personal fight. But even with that, there was the not insignificant chance that she wouldn't win. The Lord of the Night was known as that title, and many others, for a good reason. The night was inherently dangerous, as all sensible creatures knew and to be lord of such a thing was both boast and proof at once. So she would wait a little longer, be a little more patient, form another plan. More would be coming soon, that was sure. More importantly was the fact that they wouldn't be 'him'. Other dragons she could and would kill with little effort. She would draw 'him' out into the open day, and then crush him for good.<p>

Yes, it was shaping up to be a good plan, wound another, make him play hero, and turn the tables. Then she would finally-

Her thought process stopped completely, and reaction took over as something came out of the night, lunging towards her. Her earlier thoughts had been truer than she could remember, and rolling clear of the shadow falling towards her, wings snapped open and took to the frigid night air. Another few seconds of frantic flight passed before the realization that she was abandoning her entire plan to the whims of the larger predator. While she was no queen of the night, her honor had been insulted, and her dinner- now breakfast- threatened.

Roaring a challenge, she wheeled around and dived, her challenge answered by her much larger foe. This would be fun.

Inside the cave, the events occurring out in the storm did not pass unnoticed. Toothless- still on guard at the cave mouth followed the roars and occasional bright flashes as they swept back and forth across the snowswept sky. The Nightfury wasn't sure who was attacking whom out there, and in the state he was in, he had no intentions of finding out any time soon. 'She' was one of them, that was for sure, the color and briefness of the bolt attested to that. The other, well it scared him a little, deep down inside. It was the same type of flame as the queen that they had brought down not so long ago. If it was another, than they were all in more trouble than his boy could ever dream.

Glancing back into the cave briefly, Toothless saw that Hiccup was still awake and very much aware of the chaos occurring not so far away. He rumbled softly, trying to look at his boy and away from the fire at the same time. Night vision would be key in any battle fought tonight and he didn't want to lose his completely until he was sure that the fighting was over and they were safe.

"I know Toothless. Let's play quiet. Nobody home." Well, his boy had some common sense. Nodding slightly, the dragon turned back to the driving snow and resumed peering out into it for the brief flashes that would indicate fighting. It was turning out to be a very long night indeed.

Sitting there, unable to move due to the girl asleep on his shoulder, Hiccup felt his emotions warring inside of him. The battle outside meant that two very powerful- and assumedly not friendly beings were fighting over who got to eat them. This he filed under 'Very bad and nerve-wracking'. Then there was the incredibly injured girl he had his arm around, and who's head was on his shoulder. It got filed under, 'Somewhat nervous and possibly elements of that warm fuzzy feeling that she was alright'. Third most important on the list of many emotions was the sheer relief that things weren't any worse. Provided that dragon wasn't another giant, they could probably get out of this alive. Maybe. Continuing on, there was that buried emotion that was tunneling its way to the top more and more frequently. Also having to do with the girl by his side, it definitely did not start with a capital 'L' and end in 'e'. No Odin, not at all. And, if perhaps that was the right word, it would have to wait until everyone was safe, home, and not deathly ill.

A particularly loud and bright flash across the sky caught his attention, and- was that a scream? At this distance he really couldn't tell, and Toothless wasn't giving any clues. Watching the sky for a long time, searching for another flash, movement, anything at all that would indicate a fight was still going on. The windblown snow gave away none of its secrets and adding injury to insult the wind direction changed again, blowing directly into the mouth of the cave. The fire flickered, and flared up which made Hiccup wonder about the visibility of the flame briefly. Then he remembered it was blizzarding outside and with the wind blowing as it was any smoke was blowing inwards, not outwards.

And the renewed flame was certainly welcome, the windblown snow began exploring the cavern and only their close proximity to the fire spared him and Astrid from getting the majority of it. Grateful as he was, Hiccup knew that Toothless was getting the brunt of the wind and snow. His dragon seemed to be scenting the wind, and the boy wondered just what he could tell from the wind currents and smells. Smells aside, the dragon was dealing with most of the snow, and all of the wind, which was probably bad for his endurance and general well-being.

"Toothless, you can probably move back a little and take advantage of the fire. If it can find us in this, I'll be very impressed." Toothless gave another soft rumble as a reply, which the boy translated as, 'Me to' before relaxing ever so slightly and moving back towards the warmth. It was only as the dragon did so that Hiccup became aware of something that would grow to near painful levels over the night. His shoulder was asleep. Very, very asleep. And it had started to tingle. It was going to be, a long night.

Out on the snow blown plains, two creatures went their separate ways. One drug a bloody, mangled wing through the snow, the other nursed several large gashes and a torn-up wingsail. They would call it a draw, but neither had to like it.

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><p><strong>Right, so the long version was that I got hit with a one two three punch of moving across five states to school, volunteering to Stage Manage a show, and homework. The first two are done, and it's not November and novel writing time yet, so you'll get a few more updates out of me. Lull in the actual visible action this chapter. It'll return, but not for a while. Maybe. That said, overdue review responses:<strong>

**Omar: I'm not dead yet. (Ok, it's a horrible cheesy line, I'll admit it.)**

**CG: Thanks and sorry for the wait!**

**Voldyne: Better you than me. I'd be putting as many walls, doors, and continents between me and them as was physically possible. That said, it's far to much fun to write the Ice Huntress. Is that a bad thing?**

**Until next time all!**


	8. Chapter 8

**So, I won't lie. Part eight is a lot of time progression, moving life along so I can get to writing things that are more action/adventure related. That said, I had to include a little bit from our other friends warm and safe in Berk, and I like how it came out. Won't spoil anything else for you and as always, enjoy! *Insert note here about only the plot and the monsters in the blizzard being mine.***

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><p>Watching the view outside turn from pitch black to a flat grey, Hiccup knew that dawn had come. It had been a very long night, but thankfully an uneventful one. Hiccup and Toothless had taken it in turns to try and sleep, but neither felt rested. Fatigue was beginning to takes its toll, and the boy knew that he was reaching his breaking point. He could tell by the slump in his Nightfury's shoulders that Toothless was worn down as well.<p>

"Hiccup?" Weariness briefly shed, Hiccup turned to look at Astrid, and saw worry and confusion. At least she'd slept through the night. Peacefully at that. The gods had felt generous enough to grant her that, at the cost of his shoulder tingling all night. Still, she looked somewhat better when compared to yesterday and that was a positive sign well worth the slight pain to his shoulder. He watched carefully as Astrid briefly looked towards the cave entrance and blinding snow before looking back to him.

"Your shoulder makes a really hard pillow." Despite himself, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"Yeah, well, your head isn't exactly soft either. My shoulder's still tingling. And don't you dare try to hit me for that, your arm's hurt." There was silence for a long moment, and then a small nod.

"Just this once." Astrid being sensible, and quiet. She was still hurting bad then, no matter what her voice might indicate. Perhaps not dying, thank the gods, but the longer they were trapped in this cave the more likely that chance came back. Equally in Hiccups mind was the very real thought of the particular injuries to his friend. He'd never quite been told how bad his leg had been broken and burned on that cloudy miserable day not so very long ago, but it'd been bad enough to entail him being better off without it.

Not being medically inclined, Hiccup had no way of knowing just what was broken and beaten in Astrid's leg and hip, but if it was bad enough… Best not to think such things though, deal with that in the future once they were safe again. For now, they just needed to stay put and stay warm- an issue that was going to grow much harder now that he was almost out of wood. Still, things could be much worse, no attacks from the driving snow, no injuries to Toothless other than the broken tailfin, and the knowledge that as soon as the blizzard halted there would be more searchers. They just had to wait it out.

On cue his stomach began to rumble for breakfast time was breakfast time, no matter if one was at home in Berk or trapped out in a blizzard. He'd been prepared enough to bring along supplies for a meal or two, but this would be it. Hopefully, the storm wouldn't drag on much longer. They'd not starve, at least he wouldn't, but a full Toothless was a happy Toothless and a hungry Astrid was one who would get progressively weaker in quick time.

"I'm going to slip out real quick and put some water on to boil for breakfast." He saw Astrid's nod and making sure she was propped up against the cave wall, slipped out from under the blankets. The cold air was a rude awakening after the warmth of another body, and Hiccup took time to note his shiver before grabbing the pot from where he'd left it the night before. Not bothering to strap on his leg, he half crawled half slid over to the nearest pile of snow and scooped a pile into the pot. Best to save the drinkable water he still had until the wood was gone. Another short crawl and the pot was situated next to the fire, the snow melting.

Realizing at that point, he'd not spoken but a very few words to Toothless in the past half day, Hiccup moved over to his dragon to correct that. The Nightfury turned away from the cave entrance, and Hiccup could see the fatigue weighing on his dragon. Drawing close, he leaned against Toothless' flank to rest, eyes closed and totally worn down. Something had to give sooner than later, and making up his mind, Hiccup spoke.

"Well done boy, well done. We can take a rest now I think, once we get a bit of food in us." He received a rumble in acknowledgement and a nuzzle of affection as well. Drawing strength from the embrace, and his amazing friend, Hiccup nodded once. He opened his eyes to see the Nightfury mimicking his nod. The determination had returned, he could see it in his dragon's eyes and thus emboldened, Hiccup returned to the fire, and started making breakfast.

Some good distance away from the cave as the dragon flies, on an island surrounded by crashing waves and hidden in the driving blizzard, the village of Berk had resigned itself to a good long wait. The wise women had spoken at sunrise, and for some very concerned friends, the words were not good, "Three days of snow, then sunlight." They had gathered around a fire, after the prediction and amidst the usual jostling, arguments, and inevitable scuffles, an uneasy quiet had settled amongst the four Vikings and their dragons.

"If this storm lasts three days, I estimate their survival chances to be-" He never got to finish, being dogpiled by the other three Vikings.

"Shut."

"Up."

The twins, coming to a rare agreement, looked at each other in shock before clambering off Fishlegs. They were followed by Snotlout, who after a rare moment of hesition, added.

"Yeah, I bet they're fine. Probably together, talking about how I'm going to have to rescue them once the snow stops- Ow!" The twins had again agreed and pinned him to the floor.

"Us."

"You idiot."

"It's a group effort,"

More silence, and after a moment there was a general untangling of limbs as the various Vikings sorted themselves out. This was all much to the amusement of their dragons, who had deigned to forgo the fun of a fight and instead huddle as near to the nice warm fire as was possible. Slowly, the four young riders drifted over to join them, and as various bruised were examined and dismissed, each was lost in thought, wondering where the missing four members of their group might be.

Not so very far away, in another warm hut that was buffeted by the blowing snow and driving wind, an old woman sat in her chair. Slowly rocking back and forth, she closed her eyes and listened as her body complained. Gods, she was too old for the changing weather anymore. Her left knee was aching something fierce, and despite what her counterparts claimed, the left knee had never lied to her yet. There would be a short break in the weather later today. Not anything sunny, not anything calm, but for a few hours there would be no snow. Her knee knew that much.

For Hiccup, sitting in the cave watching the fire burn down, he knew his stump hurt and knew enough about the weather to realize this meant something. What it meant he couldn't say and it frustrated him to no end. Gently massaging the aching leg he looked to the side at Astrid- again asleep after their meal, and stopped feeling sorry for himself. The toughness it must require to not cry out every time she moved something made his sore stump pale in comparison.

'Positive thoughts, c'mon Hiccup.' Returning his attention to what he'd been doing, Hiccup gazed upon the broken piece of work that was Toothless' tailfin. As best he could tell, during the desperate fight earlier, ice had finally worked its way into the pedal joint and made the metal brittle to the point that when he had shifted the fin for a turn, the joint had shattered. There would be no makeshift repairs; he'd need to make an entirely new joint back in Berk to fix it.

Pushing the broken tailfin away, the boy decided there was nothing left to do but wait it out. No more wood left to put on the fire, no more meals to cook, only huddling under the blankets and watching their water supply, the ever helpful Toothless able to melt snow if they ran out. The Nightfury had earlier abandoned his watch post, and realizing that Astrid was leaning against the rough cave wall, gotten Hiccup to scoot her far enough away from the wall for him to interpose himself between wall and girl. Both dragon and girl were now fast asleep, each far more comfortable than they had been earlier.

Sliding back the few feet that separated the fire from the two fast asleep, Hiccup slid under the blankets and readjusted them so that there wasn't any exposed skin. Then, leaning back against his dragon, he allowed himself to relax slightly. Maybe he'd be able to get some sleep as well. Nothing was going to happen until the snow stopped falling anyway. Eyes closed he did his best to relax, head resting on Toothless arms at his side, easy breathing. Everything would be just fine. They would be found as soon as the snow stopped, be rescued, go home, get well, and life would go on as normal. For now there would be real sleep, and, if at some point during the day one person's hand found the other's hand, there was no shame in that either. Together they would wait.

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><p><strong>And there we go, all's well for now, if you count being trapped out in a blizzard counts as being well. Perhaps a rescue attempt next chapter. That said, onto review responses.<strong>

**Omar: Caffeine donations are always welcome.**

**Alsarnia: Thanks for the well wishes, and good luck to you as well if you're taking the plunge. Glad you've enjoyed it thus far, and hope to hear from you again.**

**Voldyne: Pretty much, yeah. Pride hath it's own dangers and all. We haven't seen the last of the two though. Give me a few chapters. (Bwuahaha) And yeah, Astrid needs to get home to help ASAP.**

**That's all for now, and I'll through the standard review plead and note that November is upon me, so don't expect anything unless I'm really on my game.**


	9. Chapter 9

**After a very long break, I present chapter nine for your reading pleasure. Enjoy and as always, only the things out in the snow are my invention. **

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><p>Something was wrong, and it brought him out of the peaceful slumber to full alertness in an instant. It took Hiccup a long moment to realize that what was bugging him was the absence of sound. Opening his eyes, he looked around and realized that the wind and snow were gone. It was not sunny, but the blizzard had halted. Now was as good a time as any to start Toothless shooting signals into the sky.<p>

"Toothless, wake up." Watching his dragon come awake and tense up, Hiccup added a reassurance. "It's ok boy, the blizzard's stopped for now. Time to signal for help." He saw his dragon nod before a voice spoke up.

"It's stopped?" Astrid, awake once more was peering outside as well. Hiccup nodded in confirmation before realizing that they were holding hands. When had that happened again? Nothing had been said about it yet, and so he did not let go.

"Yeah, for now. In a moment we're going to move again so Toothless can signal for help- we got a little involved with something on our way here, and the tailfin broke. Hopefully the others will come looking and see the fireballs." He saw Astrid nod and turned to thinking about how to go about the move. He really didn't want her leaning against the rock again. Even he made a better cushion than that. Making up his mind with that thought, he spelling out the plan.

"Right, I'll scoot you forward a bit to allow Toothless to get up, and then we'll scoot back to the wall and you can use me as a cushion." He saw Astrid nod again, and focus-clearly not looking forward to any kind of moving. That said, the maneuver went off exactly as planned and Hiccup took a bit of pride in noting that Astrid never so much as to flinch with pain. Slow and steady was how the movement could be described, but when it was all said and done Astrid was safely resting against his chest.

"How's that?" The question was considered for a moment before the response-

"At least you're warm. Pull up the blankets." Hiccup let loose a small chuckle, caught a light elbow from Astrid's good arm in response, and did as requested. Blankets readjusted, he moved to put his arms around his friend, who just happened to be a girl- paused and thought better of it and started to drop them to his side when Astrid spoke up.

"It's ok, Hiccup." Not entirely sure how to process that, Hiccup gently wrapped his arms around the girls waist, making sure to keep well above the injured hip. The uncertainly of his action remained only until Astrid covered his arms with her good one, lightly squeezing his hand with hers. That acceptance- that most basic of gestures allowed him to relax. Now comfortable, Hiccup looked towards his dragon, who'd been observing the operation with equal parts concern and amusement.

"Whenever you're ready Toothless." He saw his dragon nod and turned towards the cave mouth. Several seconds after the Nightfury disappeared from view, Hiccup heard that distinctive sound and caught the flash of blue as it shot skyward, realizing it was a race against time. Who would win, the return of the snow, the things out in the snowy tundra, or his friends?

And so time passed. Toothless, the most active of the trapped party kept himself busy. Pacing his signal flames, he would always move away from the cave entrance before breathing- trying to convince himself that this tactic would prevent 'her' from relocating where they were hiding. In between bursts of flame he'd return to the cave to see his boy and his girl- for she was his girl now. There was no doubt in the dragon's mind that whatever had injured Astrid that badly had probably done in her Nadder. The dragon had his ideas, and chief among them was the guess that his friend's last conscious act had been to buck the girl off his back before he'd been attacked.

That assumed, Astrid was now his to protect as best he could. Gazing at the two, one resting against the other, neither speaking but a word or two now and again, Toothless couldn't help but approve. They were good for each other, that was as plain as the moon in the night sky. His Hiccup was a good counter to Astrid's rashness most days, and Astrid brought out courage in Hiccup that Toothless had seen time and time again since meeting the girl. The attempt to prove the Vikings wrong about dragons, the battle against the Queen, the taking charge of a new class of younger ones who might find dragon partners, and most recently the flight through the snow to find Astrid. Nodding to himself, Toothless resolved that if they got out of this cave, he'd see to it that his boy didn't do anything to stupid that would ruin what was starting to blossom.

Surmising it was time for yet another signal; the dragon rose to his feet and began trekking out of the cave again. Turning left, he padded silently through the snow and followed the cliff face for a short time before stopping and heading directly away from the cliff. Once an acceptable distance away, he looked skyward- still all cloud covered and shot off a bolt of flame. The blue turned to the more traditional bright orange and the Nightfury watched with idle interest as the flame dissipated just below the cloud cover. Waiting a few moments, Toothless sent a second bolt into the air with much the same effects as the first. Watching the second bolt dissipate, he noted the wind starting to pick up once more. Not good, that could only mean one thing in the short run- their reprieve from the snow was coming to a close.

His third bolt of the round contained more force than usual, and the dragon watched it shoot into the clouds. No one would've seen that one, he'd have to fire a fourth before returning to the cave for another brief break. This decided, much was his surprise when the blue turned to orange in the clouds and promptly revealed a two headed figure with two very distinctive Vikings along for the ride. That the two were most likely singed and perhaps a bit startled didn't bother him in the slightest.

Singed didn't even begin to describe how the twins were feeling. It'd been a freak wind gust that had tossed their Zippleback into the clouds and a freak flame that had sent them right back out. Thankfully, during the surprise, their collective heads hadn't gotten tangled up, and after a long moment Tuffnut mustered the wits to shout over the wind.

"What in the name of Odin was that?"

Ruffnut started to respond when another ball of flame shot past the two to detonate just above them.

"It's gotta be Toothless, you numbskull. Who else shoots blue flame?"

Peering down towards the ground, the Viking took a good deal of time in looking. She didn't trust her sibling to look alone. That said, she was surprised when both heads of their Zippleback let out a cheerful roar before going into a dive. As they lost altitude, two voices spoke as one.

"There he is! But where are the others?" The black figure that was Toothless began to move, towards the cliff face they'd been flying away from, and for lack of other options, they followed until Toothless disappeared into a little hole in the wall, almost invisible from the altitude they had been flying at. What followed thereafter was one very rough landing which took them some time to sort out and get untangled from. Finally, when brother and sister had stood up, they saw Hiccup leaning against the cave entrance, and the expression on his face put to rest any sarcastic jabs that'd been prepared.

"Ruff, Tuff. Odin am I glad to see you two. Listen and listen quick, because we're short on time. Toothless can't fly, Astrid's hurt bad and without her dragon. First off, how far off is home?" He watched as the twins shifted mental gears and answered.

"Little under an hour."

"We didn't fly straight so it could be less than that."

That was manageable, was doable. Putting his brain to work, Hiccup came up with a plan, one that had far too many 'if's' in it, but was the best he could do.

"Alright, I need you two to get back home, collect any of the others who've came back, and if Fishlegs is there, let him pick the best three dragons and best three students, based on flight and even-headedness. If he's not, you're the ones in charge of selecting them." A pause as he added, 'Never thought I'd say that' silently before going on. "Gather up one of the healers who can deal with heights, have someone good with rope put together a stretcher that two dragons can carry underneath them, and then get back here if the weather still looks ok." He started to end, and then realizing what he was forgetting added, "Oh, and have Gobber bring you the replacement tailfin that's in the shop. Got that all?"

"Got it."

"Healer, stretcher, tailfin…"

"Three of the dragons and students best able to fly."

The back and forth checklist completed, Hiccup nodded, satisfied as he could be with the plan that depended completely on the weather. Part of him wanted to have them carry Astrid back, but with her injuries, she wouldn't be able to ride, and he didn't trust the Zippleback enough to jury-rig something. Two heads were great at sometimes, but all too often, as the landing had demonstrated, could make things go horribly wrong.

"Right, get going then. And hurry. I'm not sure we can last through another blizzard out here." The twins, nodded and he was heartened to see how seriously they were taking things. They clambered up on their dragon, launched skyward, and soon were fading from sight. Back to the waiting game then, and time to go back inside. Toothless had swapped places with him, so Astrid would have someone with her at all times, and stepping out of the freshening wind and into the cave he saw the two. Toothless was acting as the cushion once again and Astrid was awake and looking towards the entrance.

"Well?" The tone was casual, but even so, the hopefulness leaked through.

"That was the twins. I've sent them back for some more help and supplies so we can go home. They should be back soon, we're not that far away from home if their guess was right." Silence fell for a moment, and even as he tried to smile reassuringly the sound of the wind whistling gently became audible. It wasn't blowing hard at all, but it was blowing again and they both knew it. The race was well and truly on.

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><p><strong>The first time I wrote this chapter, this was the point where everyone flew away happily ever after. However, after helping treat someone who had a broken leg this winter, much less a hip, I realized it wasn't a practical option. So, you get at least one more chapter than the big picture called for originally. <strong>

**No promises on when the next part will be out. Life is busy.**


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